Dharminder Mann, an Oakland, Calif., entrepreneur with close ties to city hall, is charged with defrauding a city beautification program to the tune of thousands of dollars. He is shown here on January 27, 2010, in his business, iGrow, in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Dharminder Mann, an Oakland, Calif., entrepreneur with close ties...

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Dhar Mann displays his Medical Cannabis Card on Wednesday January 27, 2010. He had planned on opening a one-stop shop for medical marijuana growth and cultivation.

A young and politically connected businessman who sought fame as a "ganja-preneur" in Oakland's medical marijuana industry was charged Thursday with 13 felonies for allegedly defrauding a city grant program that helps property owners pay for renovations.

Alameda County prosecutors charged Dhar Mann, 27, with stealing thousands of dollars from the city in 2008 and 2009. Mann was not arrested and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

His attorney, John Runfola, conceded that Mann "took shortcuts" in the grant program but said the charges were overblown.

Mann owns a property management firm, rents limousines and exotic cars, is a scion of one of the city's biggest taxi companies, Friendly Cab, and launched the nation's first chain of hydroponic superstores catering to the medical pot world.

Prosecutors said Mann, while operating MannEdge Properties of Oakland, defrauded city redevelopment programs that paid as much as half the cost of renovations of commercial buildings in certain areas.

Fake checks

Mann submitted copies of cashier's checks made payable to contractors as proof he had made the renovations. But he actually paid the contractors much less and redeposited the checks in his own bank account, district attorney's investigator Frank Moschetti wrote in a court filing.

The city paid Mann more than $44,000 based on fraudulent paperwork, Moschetti said.

Runfola said Mann had obtained grants for 12 projects. In total, the defense attorney said, Mann's own spending exceeded the city's matching grants.

"Discouraged by ... the complex bureaucratic process and the struggling economy, my client admittedly took shortcuts to complete reimbursement for the development process," Runfola said.

"It is unfortunate," he added, "that the district attorney's office is prosecuting this young businessman instead of continuing the dialogue."

Warehouse scam

Prosecutors accused Mann of fraud in connection with four of his projects. In one case in October 2009, Moschetti wrote, Mann told the city he was going to pay $48,500 to Berumen Construction of Dublin for work on a warehouse where Mann later opened a hydroponics store.

Company owner Javier Berumen told investigators that Mann had later renegotiated the deal for $22,000.

In November 2009, Moschetti wrote, Mann sent documents to the city showing he had paid Berumen the full $48,500. Less than a month later, the investigator alleged, Mann said he had paid Berumen $14,700 more.

"In truth, Berumen never received those checks, nor did he do all the work indicated," Moschetti said.

The investigator said Mann had forged Berumen's signature on a document certifying that the contractor was paid. Moschetti said Berumen had reported the suspected fraud, allowing the city to withhold payment.

In all, prosecutors charged Mann with four counts of grand theft, two counts of attempted grand theft and six counts of forgery.

Prominent family

The charges mark an abrupt turn for Mann, who comes from an influential family and became a leading face of the medical marijuana industry.

Mann rode the publicity frenzy in 2010 surrounding a ballot initiative that would have legalized adult use of marijuana in California statewide. He was featured on the cover of Mother Jones magazine and in documentaries, and even scored a reality TV show.

He attracted the city's top leaders to his events and helped host a fall 2010 fundraiser at his parents' Dublin home for now-Gov. Jerry Brown. The two were pictured on his Facebook page drinking champagne.

Mann was also a vocal proponent of the Oakland City Council's plan to license industrial-scale medical marijuana farming, and planned a 57,000-square-foot pot farm of his own. The council dropped the idea when law enforcement officials warned that it was illegal.

Ties to councilwoman

Mann has cultivated especially close ties to City Councilwoman Desley Brooks. In 2010, he opened a school, University of Cannabis, which trains people in how to operate in the medical-marijuana industry. Brooks was in the first class.